A division of reptiles

8/7/2019 A division of reptiles

1/17

A division of reptiles, called chelonians, includes turtles, tortoises, and terrapins. For the most part,

the difference between a turtle and tortoise is more of a rough semantic category than a strict

taxonomic separation. Colloquially, both biologists and lay people use the word, "turtle" to mean all

chelonians. In general, turtles live in or near the water and have adapted to swim by holding their

breath underwater. Tortoises live primarily in arid regions, built for storing their own water supply

and walking on sandy ground.

In a biological respect, a tortoise is a kind of a turtle, but not all turtles are tortoises. Tortoises

occupy their own taxonomic family, called testudinidae. All types of land and aquatic turtles come in

a wide range of sizes, colors, and shapes. Sometimes the name "terrapin" refers to those animals

that fall somewhere between a turtle and tortoise, because they live in swampy areas or begin life

underwater and eventually move to dry land.

Turtles may live in freshwater, the ocean, or brackish ponds and marshland. Their front feet might

be fins or merely webbed toes with streamlined back feet to help them swim. Turtles have flatter

backs than tortoises, and may spend all or part of their lives underwater. They mate and lay eggs

underwater or on the shore. Some turtles sun themselves on logs, rocks, or sandy banks. During cold

weather, they burrow in mud and go into torpor, a state similar to hibernation. Sea turtles migrate

great distances. They are more often omnivorous, eating plants, insects, and fish.

Tortoises live entirely above water, only wading into streams to clean themselves or to drink. In fact,

they could drown in deep or swift current. Their feet are hard, scaly, and nubby so it can crawl

across sharp rocks and sand. Tortoises often have claws to dig burrows, which they occupy during

hot, sunny weather or during sleep. Tortoises are mostly herbivorous, eating cactus, shrubs, and

other plants that have a lot of moisture. They rarely migrate. Their shell forms a rounded dome,

allowing the tortoise's limbs and head to withdraw for protection. source: What is the difference between a turtle and a tortoise?


2/17

A STOMPershares with us these photos of tortoises and turtles taken at the

Chinese Garden.

He says there is a shop there thats sells tortoises and turtles made of stone and

porcelain.

What's the difference between a tortoise and a turtle?

"A tortoise is a land creature and is a vegetarian. It is usually kept as a pet. A turtle

is a sea creature and usually eats fish and vegetables," explains the STOMPer.


3/17


4/17

Don't laugh, some people don't know the difference between a turtle and a tortoise.

The STOMPer's explanation is still rather inaccurate; while it is true that tortoises

are wholly terrestrial, and that they are predominantly vegetarian, many species can

and will consume animal protein, whether it's in the form of slugs and earthworms,

or even carrion.


5/17

Likewise, the term 'turtle' does not only refer to the marine species, but is also used

to refer to the semi-aquatic and aquatic freshwater species. Saying that their diet

consists of 'fish and vegetables' is a bit of an overgeneralisation, since there are turtle

species which specialise on certain types of food, and turtle diets can vary fromspecies to species; there are some that are almost wholly carnivorous, while there are

others that feed largely on plant matter.

I recently talked about the differences between turtles, tortoises and terrapins over at

this blog post.

The photos were taken at the Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum, an extremely

interesting and affordable place to visit. It does showcase a wide variety of turtle

species from all over the world, although it has been besieged from time to time by

thieves attempting to steal some of the reptiles. Interestingly enough, it seems that

only tortoises are targeted; I would love to see the thieves try to get away with the

snapping turtles. Unfortunately, the fact is that turtles feature heavily in the global

exotic pet trade, and a significant proportion of such trade is illegal.

Anyway, I'm going to take a shot at identifying the turtle and tortoise species in the

photos above:

1) Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans);

2) Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans);

3) Snake-necked turtle (Chelodina sp.);

4) Chinese stripe-necked turtle (Ocadia sinensis);

5) Red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria);

POSTED BY IVAN AT 6:00 PM

LABELS: CHINESE GARDEN , JURONG , PETS, REPTILES , STOMP, THREATS

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6/17

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D-Link

Turtles live in all kinds of waters including freshwater, the ocean, or brackish ponds and the

marshland.

Their front feet might be fins or merely webbed toes with streamlined back feet that help

them to swim. As compared to tortoise, turtles have flatter backs and spend their time or part

of their lives underwater. They mate under water and lay eggs on the shore.

Some turtles sun themselves on logs, rocks, or sandy banks.As the winter approaches, they

burrow in mud and go into torpor, a state similar to hibernation. Sea turtles migrate great

distances. They are more often omnivorous, eating plants, insects, and fish.

As compared to turtles, the tortoises live entirely above water. They go into streams to clean

themselves or otherwise to drink. Their feet are hard, scaly, and nubby so it can crawl across

sharp rocks and sand. Tortoises often have claws to dig burrows, which they occupy during

hot, sunny weather or during sleep. Tortoises are mostly herbivorous, eating cactus, shrubs,


17/17

and other plants that have a lot of moisture. They rarely migrate. Their shell forms a rounded

dome, allowing the tortoise's limbs and head to withdraw for protection.

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A division of reptiles

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